Glass is widely used as a transparency in a variety of applications due to its superior optical qualities. For example, monolithic panels of glass are commonly used as glazing material or as architectural material for buildings. Monolithic glass panels are also commonly used as transparencies in a variety of vehicular applications. Unfortunately, glass is a relatively dense material and is also relatively brittle such that relatively large thicknesses are required to provide a glass panel with sufficient strength to resist cracking under load.
In an attempt to avoid the weight penalties associated with monolithic glass panels, transparencies may also be fabricated of polymeric material. For example, monolithic panels may be formed of transparent polymers such as acrylic (e.g., Plexiglas™) which is less dense than glass and which possesses favorable optical properties. Unfortunately, acrylic has relatively low strength properties making it unsuitable for applications where high strength is required.
In consideration of the weight penalties associated with monolithic glass panels and the strength limitations associated with monolithic polymeric panels, manufacturers have fabricated transparencies from polymeric materials reinforced with fibers to enhance the strength and impact resistance of the transparency. Unfortunately, certain environmental factors may have an undesirable effect on the optical characteristics of a polymeric material reinforced with fibers. For example, changes in temperature may reduce the optical quality of the fiber-reinforced polymeric material.
As can be seen, there exists a need in the art for a system and method for controlling the optical quality of a fiber-reinforced transparency with changes in temperature.